Dr Jacques V Behmoaras

Research interests

As part of the first promotion of Imperial College Junior Research Fellows, I am studying the genetic basis of glomerular inflammation. My major interest is to understand the genetic determinants of macrophage activation in the rat. The Wistar Kyoto rat is highly susceptible to crescentic glomerulonephritis and one of the hallmark of the pathophysiology is marked macrophage infiltration and the altered macrophage activation. Using the most recent genetic and genomic resources in the rat, we are aiming to identify genetic loci responsible of the aberrant macrophage phenotypes in the rat. Translational studies are then undertaken in human monocyte-derived macrophages in order to understand the importance of pathways controlling macrophage activation in human autoimmune disorders.

SELECTED KEY PUBLICATIONS

Page TH, D'Souza Z, Nakanishi S, Serikawa T, Pusey CD, Aitman TJ, Cook HT and Behmoaras J. Role of Novel Rat-specific Fc Receptor in Macrophage Activation Associated with Crescentic Glomerulonephritis. J Biol Chem. 2012; 287(8):5710-9

Cook HT, Tarzi R, D'Souza Z, Laurent G, Lin WC, Aitman TJ, Mechta-Grigoriou F, Behmoaras J. AP-1 Transcription Factor JunD Confers Protection from Accelerated Nephrotoxic Nephritis and Control Podocyte-Specific Vegfa Expression. Am J Pathol. 2011; 179(1):134-40

Maratou K, Behmoaras J, Fewings C, Srivastava P, D'Souza Z, Smith J, Game L, Cook T, Aitman T. Characterization of the macrophage transcriptome in glomerulonephritis-susceptible and -resistant rat strains. Genes Immun. 2011; 12(2):78-89.

Behmoaras J, Smith J, D’Souza Z, Bhangal G, Chawanasuntoropoj R, Tam FW, Pusey CD, Aitman TJ, Cook HT. Genetic loci modulate macrophage activity and glomerular damage in experimental glomerulonephritis. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010; 21(7):1136-44

Atanur S, Birol I, Guryev V, Hirst M, Hummel O, Behmoaras J, Fernandez X, Johnson MD, McLaren W, Morrissey C, Patone G, Petretto E, Plessy C, Saar K, Zhao Y, Carninci P, Flicek P, Kurtz T, Cuppen E, Pravenec M, Hübner N, Jones SJM, Birney E, Aitman TJ. The genome sequence of the spontaneously hypertensive rat: analysis and functional significance. Genome Res. 2010; 20(6):791-803

Aitman TJ, Petretto E, Behmoaras J. Genetic mapping and positional cloning. Methods Mol Biol. 2010; 597:13-32

Behmoaras J, Cook HT, Pusey CD. Kallikreins: unravelling the genetics of autoimmune glomerulonephritis. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2009; 24:2987-9

Behmoaras J, Bhangal G, Smith J, McDonald K, Mutch B, Lai PC, Domin J, Game L, Salama A, Foxwell BM, Pusey CD, Cook HT and Aitman TJ.. JunD is a determinant of macrophage activation and is associated with susceptibility to glomerulonephritis. Nat Genet. 2008; 40:553-9

Smith J, Lai PC, Behmoaras J, Roufosse C, Bhangal G, McDaid JP, Aitman T, Tam FW, Pusey CD, Cook HTGenes expressed by the kidney and bone marrow derived cells underlie genetic susceptibility to crescentic glomerulonephritis in rat. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2007; 18:1816-23